Sewing machine attachments

ABSTRACT

In or for a sewing machine there is a device for assisting the sewing of hooks to tapes or other articles. The hooks are of the kind comprising a length of wire bent to form an open-work base and a bill extending upwards from one side of the base and over part of the base. The device comprises means for supplying hooks sequentially to a hook supply station, and means for engaging the bill of a hook disposed at that station, moving it from the station to a sewing station where the sewing machine can at least start to sew the base to the article, releasing the hook and returning to the hook supply station for a further hook.

United States Patent [1 1 [451 Apr. 16, 1974 Simpson SEWING MACHINEATTACHMENTS [75] Inventor: William Leslie Simpson,

Birmingham, England [73] Assignee: Newey Goodman Limited,

Birmingham, England [22] Filed: Dec. 27, 1972 [21] Appl. N0.: 319,058

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 31, 1971 Great Britain60971/71 [52] US. Cl. 112/105 [51] Int. Cl D05b 3/18 [58] Field ofSearch 112/104-107, 112/114,108-11O [5 6] References Cited UNITED STATESPATENTS 2,803,204 8/1957 Alfandre 112/105 1,137,122 4/1915 Dasher112/105 Primary Examiner-Geo. V. Larkin Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Scrivener Parker Scrivener & Clarke [5 7] ABSTRACT In or for asewing machine there is a device for assisting the sewing of hooks totapes or other articles. The hooks are of the kind comprising a lengthof wire bent to form an open-work base and a bill extending upwards fromone side of the base and over part of the base. The device comprisesmeans for supplying hooks sequentially to a hook supply station, andmeans for engaging the bill of a hook disposed at that station, movingit from the station to a sewing station where the sewing machine can atleast start to sew the base to the article, releasing the hook andreturning to the hook supply station for a further hook.

8 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 16 1914 SHEET 1 BF 5 FIG. 12.

FIG.13.

15 FIG. 2.

FIG. 3.

QATENTEIJAPR 1 6 1914 SHEET u UF 5 SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENTS Thisinvention relates to sewing machine attachments and aims to provide asewing machine attachment adapted to assist in the sewing of hooks totapes or other articles, the hooks being of the kind comprising a baseand a bill extending upwards from one side of the base and over part ofthe base, the base being either of open shape or of a material which canbe pierced, so that the hook can be secured to a tape or other articleby stitches passing over or through parts of the base.

It must be stated here that throughout this specification, for ease ofdescription and comprehension, all the components are described as ifthey were in their normal positions; and it is to be understood thatthis is not intended to restrict the scope of the invention.

In the manufacture of hook tape or other articles to which a row ofhooks is secured it is usual to arrange for the base of each hook to bestitched between two of the component layers of the tape or otherarticle, while the bill projects from between the layers, extendsupwards past an adjacent edge of the upper layer and over that part ofthe upper layer adjacent to said edge. The stitching is usually carriedout by a sewing machine, and the arrangement may be such that the hooksare secured by means of a straight line of stitches either of uniformlength or of different lengths, or by means of more complex patterns ofstitches in which some stitches extend laterally, that is in a directiontransverse to the direction of material feed. Such lateral stitches canreadily be made by a swing-needle sewing machine.

Whatever arrangement is used, however, it is essential that the hooksshould be correctly and accurately positioned before they are stitchedin place. If a hook is incorrectly positioned there is a likelihood thatsome part of it will be struck by the needle forming the stitches, andthis may cause damage to the hook or the needle, particularly when thehook is made from metal.

An aim of the present invention is to provide means enabling this dangerto be avoided or the likelihood of its happening reduced.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided in or for asewing machine a device for assisting the sewing of hooks to articles,the hooks being of the kind comprising a base and a bill extendingupwards from one side of the base and over part of the base, the basehaving an attachment portion through which a sewing machine needle canpass, the device comprising hook supply means operative to supply hookssequentially to a hook supply station, hook engaging means operative toengage the bill of a hook disposed at the hook supply station, to movethe hook from that station to a sewing station where the attachmentportion is aligned with the sewing machine needle, to release the hookand to return to the hook supply station for afurther hook.

The device may comprise an attachment for an existing sewing machine, orit may form a part of purposebuilt sewing machine.

A significant feature of the invention that each book is individuallytaken from the hook supply station to the sewing station by hookengaging means which engages the bill rather than the base of the hook.This enables the hook engaging means to manipulate the base of the hookbetween two layers of material where it can be stitched in place asdescribed above. Further, the hook engaging means can readily bearranged to hold each hook at the sewing station while the sewingmachine forms at least one stitch for securing the base of the hook tothe tape or other article. I

In a preferred arrangement the hook engaging means is operative to movethe hook laterally with respect to the direction of material feed, sothat the base of the hook can enter between layers of material at oradjacent to the sewing station.

One particular type of sewing machine attachment embodying the presentinvention will now be described by way of example with reference to theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hook of the kind which the attachmentmanipulates;

FIG. 2 is a section through the tape to be sewn by the attachment, andincludes a hook disposed in position ready for sewing to begin,

FIG. 3 is a plan view to a somewhat smaller scale of hook tape sewn bythe machine and attachment,

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the machine assembly, with the attachmentmounted in position,

FIG. 5 is a front view, to a larger scale of part of the attachment, theoutline of the machine being shown in chain-dotted lines,

FIG. 6 is an end view corresponding toFIG. 5 and as viewed from the leftof FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is a plan view of another part of the attachment,

FIG. 8 is a section along the line 8-8 of FIG. 7,

FIG. 9 is a plan view of a hook at the sewing station, to a muchenlarged scale, a subsequent position of the hook being shown in brokenlines,

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the order in which the stitches areformed which secure each hook in position,

FIGS. 11(a) to (e) are a series of related diagrams illustrating thesequence of operations while the stitches of FIG. 10 are being formed,

FIG. 12 is a plan view, to an enlarged scale of the lower end of thehook supply chute shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and

FIG. 13 is a section along the line 12-12 of FIG. 10.

In order readily to understand the nature and function of the attachmentit is first desirable to understand the nature of the preferred form ofhooks for use with the attachment, a typical form of tape to which thehooks are secured, and a typical form of sewing machine assembly withwhich the attachment is intended to be used.

The preferred form of hook is shown in FIG. 1 and is made from a lengthof wire. One end portion of the wire is bent into generally squareconfiguration as indicated at 1, one side 2 of the square, the firstside, having a gap 3 at one end. A portion 4 of the wire leads from thefourth side 5 of the square in a direction away from the square but inalignment with the first side thereof. After a short distance thisportion 4 of the wire is curved upwards as shown at 6, out of the planeof the square 1 and extends back over the gap 3 of the first side of thesquare 1, parallel with that side but spaced above it. This wire is nextbent through a curve 7, while remaining in a plane parallel with thatcontaining the square I, and then curves downwards again at 8, parallelwith the upwardly curved portion 5. The distance between these parallelportions 5 and 8 lying above the plane of the square is equal to thethickness of the wire. The parallel portions themselves define theoutline of the bill of the hook.

The next portion of the wire is formed into a second square 9, which issimilar to the first-described, for first, square 1 and lies alongsideit in the same plane as the first square. The fourth side of the secondsquare 9 abuts the first side 2 of the first square 1, and where thefirst side of the first square is gapped at 3 the fourth side 10 of thesecond square 9 has an upwardly directed joggle 11 which extends partway towards the parallel wires outlining the bill of the hook. Finallythe last portion 12 of the wire extends straight beyond the fourth side10 of the second square 9, and curves upwards, lying completely betweenthe parallel wires 6 and 8 defining the outline of the bill, butterminating a short distance from the l80 curve 7. Thus the two squares1 and 9 form the base of the hook; and most of the bill is constitutedby three portions 6, l2 and 8 of the wire lying alongside one another,but a hole 13, which will hereinafter be referred to as the locatinghole, is left between the two outer wires adjacent to the free end ofthe bill. It will be appreciated that the locating hole 13 is in theshape of a rectangle with a semi-circular extension at one end thereof.

The hooks are stitched to a length of tape to form hook tape. A typicalform of tape illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3 is made from two strips ofmaterial, one being a strip 14 of stiffening material and the otherbeing a strip of decorative textile material which is considerably widerthan the strip of stiffening material. The strip of textile material isfolded lengthwise to form four successive panels disposed side by side.The first panel 15 overlies much of the strip of stiffening material 14,extending across it from one edge of the stiffening material. The secondpanel 16 lies beneath the stiffening material 14. The third panel 18extends across much of the stiffening material, and across part of thefirst panel 15, from the other side edge of the stiffening material,while the fourth panel 18, which is narrower than the third panel 17, isfolded to lie immediately beneath the third panel. The first and secondpanels 15 and 16 of the strip of textile material, together with thestrip of stiffening material 14 may be considered as a lower layer 19,while the third and fourth panels 17 and 18 of the textile material maybe considered as an upper layer 20, the upper layer typically extendingacross a part of the lower layer and about two-thirds of the width ofthe lower layer.

In the manufacture of hook tape the bases of the hooks are insertedbetween the two layers of the tape, and as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 thebills project from between the layers, extend upwards past the free edge21 of the upper layer and over that part of the upper layer adjacent tothat edge. The hooks may be at uniform intervals along the tape as shownin FIG. 3 or at varying intervals. The hooks are secured in position bystitching which, between successive hooks, comprises a main line ofstitches 22 extending through both layers 19 and 20 of the tape, closelyadjacent to the free edge 21 of the upper layer 20. The main line ofstitches 22 is closer than the bases of the hooks to the free edge 21 ofthe upper layer 20 of the tape.

Where a hook is present two groups of stitches 23 (each for examplecomprising five stitches) are formed which extend transversely of thetape and lie on the side of the main line of stitches22 further from thefree edge 21 of the upper layer 20. These groups of stitches 23 secureto the tape those parts of the bases of the hooks which lie closest tothe free edge. The two groups of stitches 23, one on each side of thebill of the hook, are interconnected by a few (for example three)stitches 24 which are parallel with the main line of stitches 22 but arespaced further from the free edge 27 of the upper layer of the tape thanthe main line of stitches. One of these few stitches 24 secures the tapethe two adjacent sides 2 and 10 of the squares 1 and 9 constituting thebase of the hook. These few stitches 24 liejust to one side of the freeend ofthe bill of the hook, so that the bill interferes neither with thepassage of the sewing needle through the tape nor with the formation ofthese few stitches.

The stitching may conveniently be effected with the aid of aswing-needle sewing machine. The tape is fed through the machine whilethe needle forms the main line of stitches 22 without swinging. When ahook is reached the tape feed stops and the needle swing from side toside. The tape feed starts again while a few stitches 24 are formed withthe needle swung to one side. The tape feed stops a second time and theneedle again swings from side to side. Finally the tape feed resumeswith the needle in its original position and the main line of stitches22 is continued to the next hook.

of the needle may be similar to those described in our co-pendingBritish Patent Application No. 54,928/71 (corresponding to United StatesPatent Application Ser. No. 308,848). A swing-needle machine withcontrol means of that kind is illustrated in plan in FIG. 4. The sewingmachine itself is of the conventional construction having an uprightpillar on the right and an arm 25 extending to the left and carrying atits left hand end a vertically reciprocable needle carrier which can beswung to the left and right.

As the control means is fully described and illustrated in saidapplication it will not be described here in detail. Briefly, however,there is a continuously driven shaft 26 which carries an eccentricdevice 27 which drives a pawl engaging a ratchet wheel on a lay shaft 28and causing the lay shaft to rotate intermittently. The lay shaft 28drives the upper roller 29 of a pair of feed rollers behind the sewingstation of the machine. In'use the tape passes between the feed rollersand is pulled by them through the sewing station the tape normallymoving a short distance each time the needle is withdrawn from the work.The shaft 26 also drives gears in a gear box 30. A continuously rotatingshaft extending from the gear box 30 continuously drives a timing chain31 having spaced lugs (not shown). The lugs intermittently rotate adriven wheel 32 cam shaft 33. On each occasion the cam shaft 33 rotatesA cam 34 on the shaft 33 engages a follower device 35 which can causethe pawl to be lifted from the ratchet wheel and can thus cause theintermittent rotation of the lay shaft 28 to cease temporarily.

A chain wheel 36 at the front end of the cam shaft 33 is linked by achain 36 to a similar chain wheel 38 at the rear end of a cam shaft 39which is mounted on the arm 25 of the machine. The front end of the camshaft 39 carries a cam 40 (see also FIG. 5) which, through theintermediary of an appropriate follower and linkage (not shown) controlsthe lateral swinging of the needle. The machine itself is continuouslydriven from the shaft 26 through the intermediary of an internallytoothed belt 41.

When this type of machine and assembly is used in the manufacture ofhook tape of the kind described above and illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3the tape is fed through the sewing station with the gap between theupper and lower layers and 19 of the tape opening towards the left asviewed in FIG. 4. The bases of the hooks are introduced between theselayers from the left and just in front of the sewing station.

The hooks are supplied to a hook-supply station a little to the left ofthe tape and a little way in front of the sewing station. The hooks passto the hook-supply station down a chute 41 fed from a hopper (not shown)disposed above the level of the machine and mounted on a bracket 42. Thechute comprises a bar 43 of an electrically insulating plastics material(see FIG. 13) formed on its underside with a longitudinally extendinggroove 44 of inverted T-shaped cross-section. The bills of the hooks liein the upright part of the groove and the bases lie in the lateral,transverse parts. The hooks are retained in the groove 44 bylongitudinally spaced closure plates secured to the underside of thebar, one ofthe closure plates 45 being shown in FIGS. 5 and 13. Some ofthe closure plates, or parts of them are of electrically conductivematerial, and an electrical circuit is formed through those plates orparts and is completed by the wire hooks themselves. If the supply ofhooks fails the circuit breaks and the machine is automatically stopped.

The chute 41 is inclined downwards and to the right, and its lower endportion 46 is curved to lie horizontally. At the lower end portion thegroove 44 is made to extend right through the bar so that the bills ofthe hooks become accessible through the groove from above. A slottedspring plate 47 overlies the lower end portion of the bar 43, its slotbeing aligned with that in the bar. The free end portions of the plate47, on each side of the slot, are bent downwards to close the ends ofthe lateral parts of the groove 44. The base of the lowermost hook inthe chute abuts the end portions of the spring plate 47 and the hook isthen in what is referred to as the hook-supply station. If the hook isforcibly moved to the right, out of the chute 41, the free end of thespring plate 47 rises slightly to allow the base of the hook to pass,but snaps down again to prevent the escape of the next following hook.

The sewing machine attachment which is the main characteristic featureof the present invention is designed to engage the bill of the hook atthe hook-supply station, to move it forcibly to the right, thus removingit from the chute and causing its base to be inserted between the layers20 and 19 of the adjacent tape, to move it in the direction of tape feeduntil it reaches the sewing station and to hold it in the sewing stationwhile the first few of the laterally extending groups of stitches, whichwill secure it in place, are formed, and to release that hook and returnto the hook-supply station to engage the next hook.

At the sewing station the bed of the machine is formed with atransversely extending hole 48 through which the needle descends whenstitches are to be foremd.

The attachment comprises a rectangular base plate 50 which, when it isin use, is secured to the bed of the sewing machine a little to theright of the sewing station. A slide bed 51 is mounted on the base plate50 and comprises a smaller rectangular plate formed (as best seen inFIG. 8) in its upper surface with a broad shallow groove of rectangularcross-section which extends in a transverse direction, that is in adirection transverse to the direction of tape feed. The rear right handcorner of the grooved plate constituting the slide bed 51 is pivoted tothe base plate of the attachment by means of a vertically extendingpivot pin 52. A lever 53 having two arms of equal length at right anglesto each other is also mounted on the base plate 50 and is disposed infront of the slide bed 51. A vertical pivot pin 54 extends through thelever at the junction of its two arms and into the base plate. The firstarm 55 of the two arms of the lever 53 extend forwards from the pivot54, and the second arm 56 extends to the left of the pivot 54 and has atits free end a rearwardly extending convex projection which engages theadjacent side of the slide bed 51. When the first arm 55 is moved to theleft the second arm 56 pushes the slide bed 51 in a clockwise directionas viewed from above. This clockwise movement is limited byan adjustablescrew stop 57 mounted on the base plate 50'at the middle of the rearedge thereof, the stop engaging the rear side of the slide bed 51. Thescrew stop 57 is of tubular shape and contains a helical compressionspring which urges the slide bed 51 in a counter-clockwise direction. Asecond adjustable screw stop 58 is mounted on the base plate. 50, at themiddle of the front edge thereof, and engages the front of the secondarm 56 of the lever 53 immediately opposite the convex projection. Thusthe slide bed 51 is normally pressed by the spring against the secondarm 56 of the lever 53 which is in turn pressed against the second screwstop 58. The stops 57 and 58 are adjusted so that the maximum pivotalmovement of the slide bed 51 is only a very few degrees.

A slide 60 is mounted in the groove in the slide bed 51 and is retainedin the groove by two spaced straps 51 extending over the mouth of thegroove. An arm 62 projects from the right hand end of the slide 60, andcomprises a strip of steel with its main plain vertical and extendingtransversely of the machine. The right hand end face of the arm 62 isvertical and constitutes a bearing face for engagement by a roller 63 asdescribed below. A helical tension spring (not shown) engages the arm 62and urges it to the right.

A pair of spaced lugs 64 project upwards from the central part of theslide 60, between the straps 61, and are formed with aligned holes for apivot pin 65 which extends through them with its axis horizontal andextending in a front to rear direction, that is in a direction parallelor substantially parallel with the direction of tape feed. A relativelylong rocking lever 66 is pivoted near its centre to the pivot pin 65 andextends in a transverse direction. A leaf spring or a helicalcompression spring (not shown) acts between the right hand part of therocking lever 66 and the slide 69 beneath it so as to urge the righthand part upwards and the left hand part downwards.

The left hand end of the rocking lever 66 is turned rearwards and on itsunderside carries a tapered locating peg 67 of a shape and size such asto fit the locating hole 13 in a hook of the kind described above andshown in FIG. 1.

As described below in greater detail, movement of the slide bed 51,slide 60 and rocking lever 66 of the attachment are each controlled byappropriate cams. The arrangement is such that when the slide bed 51 isin its normal position, and the slide 60 is at the left hand end of itsrange of movement (a range which is only slightly longer than the widthof the hook) the locating peg 66 on the rocking arm is aligned with thelocating hole 13 of the hook at the hook-supply station so that when thepeg is lowered, on rocking movement of the lever 66, it can enter thehole.

If the slide 60 is then allowed to move to the right the hook engaged bythe peg 67 is withdrawn from the hook-supply station at the bottom ofthe chute 41 and is moved to the right until the base of the hook hasfully entered between the layers 19 and 20 of the tape a little way infront of the sewing station.

The two-armed lever 53 controlling the slide bed 51 can then be rockedto move the slide bed clockwise as viewed in plan so that the hook iscarried rearwards, that is in the direction of tape feed, to the sewingstation, where it can be held while the first stitches securing it inplace are formed.

FIG. 9 shows in somewhat diagrammatic form the relationship between ahook 48 when the hook is carried by the attachment to the sewingstation. The two alternative positions which the needle can take up whenstitches are to be formed are indicated at 69 and 70. When the hook isin the position shown in full lines the first group of stitches 23 isformed. Subsequently the hook is carried by the tape to the positionshown in broken lines, in which position the second group of stitches 23is formed.

The right hand end of the rocking lever 66 can be depressed to raise thelocating peg 67 from the hook, and the slide bed 51 and slide 60 can bereturned to their initial positions described above so thatthe peg 67 isready to be lowered into the locating hole 13 of the next hook at thehook-supply station.

This cycle of movements is controlled by cams mounted on the shaft 39.The cam 71 for controlling the movement of the slide bed 51 isimmediately in front of the cam 40 for controlling the swinging movementof the needle carrier, while the cam 72 for controlling the movement ofthe rocking arm 66 is immediately behind the cam 40. The lowermost partof the cam 71 is engaged by an associated cam follower which comprises aroller 73 mounted at the right hand end of an arm 74, the left hand endof which is mounted on a shaft 75 parallel with the cam shaft 39 andmounted in a bracket 76 extending below the arm 25 of the sewingmachine. Similarly the lowermost part of the cam 72 is engaged by aroller at the right hand end of an arm 77 which is also mounted on theshaft 75.

The arm 74 is clamped to the shaft 75, and also clamped to that shaft isa vertically depending arm 78 having a horizontal, transverse adjustingscrew 79 at its lower end. This screw is so positioned as to engage theright hand side of the arm 55 of the lever 53 which controls the pivotalmovement of the slide bed 51. As the cam follower arm 74 movesdownwards, therefore, the

sition being indicated by the chain-dotted circle in FIG.

7. As the cam follower arm 77 moves downwards, therefore, the locatingpeg 67 is raised.

The cam 82 for controlling movement of the slide 60 is mounted near therear end of the cam shaft 39, behind the arm 25 of the sewing machine.The lowermost part of cam 82 is engaged by a cam follower comprising aroller mounted at the right hand end of an arm 83, the left hand end ofwhich is mounted for pivotal movement on a shaft 84, parallel with thecam shaft 39 and mounted on a part of the bracket so as to be disposedsomewhat above and to the right of the shaft 72 on which the arms of theother two cam followers are mounted. The shaft 84 extends forward onlyas far as the middle of the sewing machine arm 25, and carries adepending arm 85 at its forward end. The depending arm 85 carries theroller 63 at its lower end. When the cam follower is pushed downwardsthe roller 63 moves to the left pushing the slide 60 before it.

The timing of the machine is such that on each occasion a hook is to besewn to the tape and the cam shaft 39 rotates through the machine sewsfifteen stitches. The sewing pattern formed by these stitches is showndiagrammatically in FIG. 10, the numerals in circles being the numbersof the successive stitches from 1 to 15. At the start the needle carrieris in its left hand position,.the slide bed 51 is in its normal, forwardposition, the slide 60 is in its right hand position, and the locatingpeg 67 is engaging a hook which it holds just in front of the sewingstation.

The diagrammatic FIG. 11 illustrates the sequence of events during thesewing of the fifteen stitches. The line 11(a) is a developed view ofthe edge of the cam 71 which controls the forward and backward movementof the locating peg 67. The lines 11(b) and 11(0) are similardevelopments of the cams 72 and 82 respectively, these controlling theraising and lowering of the locating peg, and the lateral movement ofthe peg respectively. The row of squares 11(d) serve to indicate theposition of the peg 67 at any stage. Each square is divided into foursmaller squares, and one of these contains a circle which represents thepeg 67. When the circle is in one of the two left hand squares the slide60 is in its left hand position and when the circle is in one of the tworight hand squares the slide is in its right hand position. Thismovement is of course correlated with the line 11(a). Similarly, whenthe circle is in one of the two lower squares the slide carrier 51 is inits forward position and when the circle is in one of the two uppersquares the slide carrier is in its rearward position. This iscorrelated with the line 11(c). Each circle is filled in, shaded oropen. When a circle is filled in it signifies that the locating peg 67is in its lowermost po sition and is in engagement with a hook. When acircle is open it signifies that the peg is in its uppermost positionand is disengaged from the hook. Finally, when a circle is shaded itsignifies that the peg is at an intermediate height. This correlateswith the line 11(b).

Each of the numbers in circles, like the numbers in FIG. 10, representsthe number of the stitch being formed at the particular stage in thecycle of stitch formation. It must be understood that each of the boxdiagrams in the row 11(d) represents the position of the peg 67 at thetime when the formation of a stitch finishes and the needle isdescending into the work at the beginning of the formation of the nextstitch.

Finally the row of diagram 11(e) illustrate the positions of eachsuccessive hook in relation to the needle hole 48 from the time it isfirst engaged by the peg 67 at the hook-supply station to the time ithas been sewn in place and moves away from the sewing station. The

position of the next hook is also shown starting from the moment whenthe peg 67 starts to engage it at the hook-supply station.

In order to emphasise that the cycle of events is repeated, and in orderto make it quite clear what happens between the end of one cycle and thebeginning of the next cycle, the sequence of stitches shown in FIG. 11does not have stitch number one at the left hand side of the Figure.

The sequence of events is as follows, each stitch being considered asending with the downward movement of the needle through the work tobegin the formation of the next stitch:

l. The tape is fed rearwards, and at the same time the slide bed 51moves rearwards (or clockwise) to carry the hook to the sewing station.

2. The tape feed ceases and the needle moves to the right.

3. The needle moves to the left.

4. The needle moves to the right.

5. The needle moves to the left while the locating peg 67 is partiallylifted from the hook.

6. The needle moves to the right while the raising of the from the 67fromthe hook is completed.

7. The tape feed starts again while the slide bed 51 returns to itsnormal position and the slide 60 is moved to the left.

8 The tape feed continues.

9. The tape feed still continues.

10. The tape feed ceases and the needle moves from the left while thelocating peg 67 starts to be lowered into the locating hole 13 in thenext hook at the hook-supply station.

1 l. The needle moves to the right while the locating peg 67 is loweredfully into the locating hole.

12. The needle moves to the left while the slide 60 also moves to theright, carrying the base of the next hook between the layers of the tapein front of the sewing station.

13. The needle moves to the right.

14. The needle moves to the left.

15. The tape feed starts again.

Normal step-by-step feed of the tape can then continue until the nexthook is to be sewn in position, whereupon the cycle is repeated. It willbe noted that while the line of stitches 23 is formed, the next hook tobe sewn in place is held with its base between the layers 19 and 20 justin front of the needle hole 48.

Two additional devices associated with the attachment must also bedescribed. The right hand end of the rocking lever 66 extends to theright of the vertical adjusting screw 81 which operates the lever. Abovethe right hand end of the rocking lever 66 is mounted a micro-switch(not shown) which can be operated by ex cessive upward movement of theright hand end of the rocking lever, but is not operated in normal useof the attachment. If. however, there is no hook at the hooksupplystation, then when the locating peg 67 is lowered it can travel furtherdownwards than usual causing the right hand end of the lever to operatethe microswitch. This operationof the switch is arranged to stop thesewing machine.

The other device enables a hook to be omitted at will. This isparticularly useful when the sewing pattern for hook attachment is beingchecked. A pair of transversely spaced lugs 86 are mounted on the baseplate 50 of the attachmentjust to the rear of the pivot pin 52 and tothe right of the first screw stop 57. A horizontal pin 87 extendstransversely between the lugs 86 and carries the rear end of a triplever 88 which extends forwards over the rocking lever 66 a little tothe right of its pivot 65 but to the left of the place where it isengaged by the vertical adjusting screw 81 which normally operates thelever. A thumb-plate 89 is mounted on the forward end of the trip lever,and when this is depressed it prevents the locating peg 67 entering thelocating hole 13 in a hook and thus prevents hook being withdrawn fromthe hook-supply station. This, however, does not cause the sewingmachine to stop.

If there is a malformed hook at the hook-supply station such that itcannot be correctly engaged by the locating peg 67, then when the slide60 moves to the right the hook remains at the hook-supply station andthe rocking lever 66 tilts to operate the microswitch referred to above.This causes the machine to stop. When the malformed hook has beenremoved, the thumbplate 89 can be depressed to raise the locating peg67, and a replacement hook can be placed beneath the peg and engaged bythe peg when the thumb-plate is released again. The machine can then bere-started and can continue operation with a hook being missed from therow of hooksstitched to the tape.

It will be observed from FIG. 3 that the central switch of the threestitches 24, that is the stitch numbered eight in the pattern ofstitches shown in FIG. 10, is rather longer than the other two. Suchelongation may not always be necessary though it is present in the formof tape shown in FIG. 3. In order to effect this change in stitch lengththere is a vertically movable bar (not shown) just in front of the feedrollers. The tape passes over this bar on its way between the sewingstation and the feed rollers. The height of the bar is controlled by acam 90 immediately in front of the cam 35 on the shaft 33. When a shortstitch, such as either of stitches numbers seven and nine, is to be madethe bar is lowered, and when a long stitch, such as stitch number eightis to be made the bar is raised.

I claim:

1. For use with a sewing machine including a needle a device havingutility in the sewing to articles of hooks of the type comprising a baseand a bill extending upwards from one side of the-base and over part ofthe base, the base having an attachment portion through which the sewingmachine needle can pass, the device comprising hook supply meansoperative to supply hooks sequentially to a hook supply station, hookengaging means operative to engage the bill of a hook disposed at thehook supply station, to'move the hook from that station to a sewingstation where the attachment portion is aligned with the sewing machineneedle, to release the hook and to return to the hook supply station fora further hook.

2. A device according to claim 1 in which the hook engaging means has ahead operative to engage the bill of a hook when it is lowered onto thatbill, and in which there is provided operating means operative to causethe head to be raised, and lowered in synchronism with the operation ofthe sewing machine.

3. A device according to claim 2 including a lever carrying said headand mounted for pivotal movement on a support, and support operatingmeans operative to move the lever and head laterally between a firstposition in which the head is aligned with the hook supply station and asecond position in which the head is aligned with the sewing station.

4. A device according to'claim 3 including a carriage on which saidlever is mounted for movement between a forward position in which thehead when in its second position is operative to hold a hook in front ofthe sewing station and a rearward position in which the head when in itssecond position is operative to hold a hook at the sewing station; andcarriage operating means operative to move the carriage between saidforward and rearward position.

5. A device according to claim 1 in which the hook supply meanscomprises a chute having a longitudinally extending passagewaysubstantially of inverted T-shape in cross-section, the narrow portionbeing operative to receive the bills of the hooks and the broaderportion being operative to receive the bases of the hooks.

6. A device according to claim 5 in which the hook supply station is atone end of the chute, there being catch means at the hook supply stationoperative to prevent the unwanted escape of a hook at the hook supplystation but capable of releasing that hook to enable the hook to beremoved by the hook engaging means.

7. A device according to claim 1 including an intermittently rotatabledrive shaft, a pluralityof cams rotatable in unison by said drive shaft,and cam followers for said cams, the movement of the hook engaging meansbeing controlled by the movement of the cam followers.

8. A device according to claim 7 in which there is also a cam and camfollower assembly operative to control the lateral swinging movement ofthe sewing machine needle, the cam of said assembly being rotatable bysaid drive shaft in unison with the other cams.

1. For use with a sewing machine including a needle a device havingutility in the sewing to articles of hooks of the type comprising a baseand a bill extending upwards from one side of the base and over part ofthe base, the base having an attachment portion through which the sewingmachine needle can pass, the device comprising hook supply meansoperative to supply hooks sequentially to a hook supply station, hookengaging means operative to engage the bill of a hook disposed at thehook supply station, to move the hook from that station to a sewingstation where the attachment portion is aligned with the sewing machineneedle, to release the hook and to return to the hook supply station fora further hook.
 2. A device according to claim 1 in which the hookengaging means has a head operative to engage the bill of a hook when itis lowered onto that bill, and in which there is provided operatingmeans operative to cause the head to be raised, and lowered insynchronism with the operation of the sewing machine.
 3. A deviceaccording to claim 2 including a lever carrying said head and mountedfor pivotal movement on a support, and support operating means operativeto move the lever and head laterally between a first position iN whichthe head is aligned with the hook supply station and a second positionin which the head is aligned with the sewing station.
 4. A deviceaccording to claim 3 including a carriage on which said lever is mountedfor movement between a forward position in which the head when in itssecond position is operative to hold a hook in front of the sewingstation and a rearward position in which the head when in its secondposition is operative to hold a hook at the sewing station; and carriageoperating means operative to move the carriage between said forward andrearward position.
 5. A device according to claim 1 in which the hooksupply means comprises a chute having a longitudinally extendingpassageway substantially of inverted T-shape in cross-section, thenarrow portion being operative to receive the bills of the hooks and thebroader portion being operative to receive the bases of the hooks.
 6. Adevice according to claim 5 in which the hook supply station is at oneend of the chute, there being catch means at the hook supply stationoperative to prevent the unwanted escape of a hook at the hook supplystation but capable of releasing that hook to enable the hook to beremoved by the hook engaging means.
 7. A device according to claim 1including an intermittently rotatable drive shaft, a plurality of camsrotatable in unison by said drive shaft, and cam followers for saidcams, the movement of the hook engaging means being controlled by themovement of the cam followers.
 8. A device according to claim 7 in whichthere is also a cam and cam follower assembly operative to control thelateral swinging movement of the sewing machine needle, the cam of saidassembly being rotatable by said drive shaft in unison with the othercams.